


Antidote: The First Phase

by onlyhoseok



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, monsta x with superpowers, superhero monsta x
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-07-19 08:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19971370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyhoseok/pseuds/onlyhoseok
Summary: After the chemical explosion in Seoul three years ago, many lives were taken away by the blast waves while some were infected instead. Those who were infected found themselves having supernatural abilities which either made them stronger or weaker.Im Changkyun hated having these powers but used them to his advantage to find an antidote to make the abilities disappear. However, after finding out there were people who were infected to be weaker dying every second, he made the decision to find a cure for them first.





	1. Prologue

Im Changkyun is an illegal hacker and a wanted criminal among the police. However, they do not know who exactly is Im Changkyun. It has been months and the police still have no idea who was the one stealing data from banks, scamming innocent people and switching off CCTV here and there. It wasn’t the cops who were terrible at their jobs, it was just the boy being a professional hacker.

The said name walked out of the convenience store with a can of cola in hand, ambling with his music blasted loudly in his ears. It is late in the evening and the streets are already empty. Chances are maybe because it’s a Monday and there’s school and work the next day. Changkyun shrugs and continues his way towards his apartment. He hums along with the song as he walks out of the elevator and unlocks his door before entering. He places the can on the table behind his laptop and takes out a lighter to light up the candle located just beside the laptop. He takes off his Airpods and turns on the radio to listen to the songs. The sides of his lips curve upwards as he stares at the downloading bar on the screen of the laptop which just passed 90%. Unlike usual, it has been hours since he started the illegal download of the footage. If it wasn’t for his desperation for the footage, he would’ve canceled the download hours ago. He takes another sip of his cola while waiting for the download to complete. Soon after, he became extremely bored that he found the lit up candle by the table to be way more fascinating than his phone. He slowly moves closer to the candle to stare at the small flame which emits very little smoke. He enjoyed the scent the candle was giving off and found himself being calmer than before. Just as he brings his head closer to blow the flame, a strong wind came out of nowhere and surprised the black-haired boy. He then coughs vigorously due to the smoke of the now gone flame violently slapped him on the face because of the strong wind which lasted a second.

Changkyun was curious where the strong wind came from as he was inside his room with only his windows being wide open. He starts to feel the pace of his heartbeat getting quicker and was anxious about it. He stands up and walks towards the window to see if there was any wind present but he found nothing. Nothing is torn down and every plant and buildings are still intact. Changkyun is confused about what happened minutes ago. He purses his lips and takes one last glance at the outside of his apartment before turning around to walk back to his seat. Except he couldn’t move.

He has his eyes widen in fear as he watches a trail of smoke coming from the extinguished flame surrounding his body. It isn’t the normal trail of smoke that people might’ve seen before, but an unusual trail which looks like it is being controlled on how to move. Changkyun felt himself shaking and took small steps towards his seat, hoping the smoke will disappear but instead, Changkyun surprises himself with how the smoke followed him to his seat. He stands still and watches are the trail of smoke circling around his body but most of it stays around his hands. Out of curiosity, he raises his palms and freaks out when he saw the smoke entering the skin of his palms. He shakes his hands aggressively and raises them again only to see trails of smoke coming out of his fingertips and create a small ball of smoke above his hand. His eyes widen yet again as he shakes his hand vigorously for the second time, cursing under his breath.

_This has to be a dream_, he tells himself. _No way is this real_.

Changkyun is then interrupted when the song on the radio suddenly stopped and is replaced with a female voice.

_ Breaking news. It was reported that there was an explosion in Hongdae a few minutes ago with an unusually strong blast wave traveling all across Seoul. We advise everyone to stay inside and have their windows and doors tightly closed. _

"A normal explosion having _this_ strong blast waves and didn't kill me?" Changkyun asks himself, not believing what the reporter said. He tries to ignore the never-ending smoke all around him and waited patiently for the next update to come. Seconds later, instead of a new update, he heard his neighbors screaming at the top of their lungs, surprising the hacker as he stares at his door. He was going to check up on them when a loud crashing sounds are heard outside, followed by screaming citizens and car alarms getting set off. With furrowed brows, he walks over to his window again but this time, the view outside was completely different from the first time.

The buildings that were beautifully sculptured a few minutes ago now have their walls broken, smoke coming out of the holes and the insides of the house are visible to everyone. There are people running all over the place, screaming in what looks like fear.

_What is going on?_

Changkyun watches in horror as he keeps hearing new screams every minute. The smoke that is still present around him did not help in making the situation any better. His feet were glued to the floor as he sees objects getting levitated and lasers passing through buildings which then left a huge hole. It was as if he was watching a superhero movie, where he was one of the innocent people in the house watching a tragedy and waiting for the superheroes to arrive, except this is real life and there are no superheroes in this world. 

He notices the unusually huge laser beam being fired at every direction and just as he noted that down, he sees the laser flying directly towards Changkyun. Without thinking, he covers his face with his palms out and the next thing he knows, there was a small explosion with a loud sound just outside his window, the exact same place he saw the laser. Lucky enough, his walls seems to still be intact. His eyes widen again and slowly looks at his hand which has, again, small trails of smoke coming out of his fingertips.

"What the fuck is this— What the fuck is going on?" Changkyun asks himself in fear, stumbling at his steps before running to his laptop. The forgotten download is now at 98% complete and Changkyun was having second thoughts on canceling it so he can search up on what is going on with him, but just as he moves the mouse, the screen turns black out of nowhere.

"Wait what's going on now?!"

He takes his phone to check on the news but his phone, too, stays shut despite pressing on the power-on button multiple times. Out of anger, he threw his phone on the bed beside him which landed at the edge of the bed. Changkyun curses under his breath when his phone slips off the bed and stretches his arm to grab the phone with his hand. Instead, the familiar trail of smoke made its way from the hacker's fingertips to the phone, circling around the now floating phone. With widened eyes, he slowly stands up and takes a few steps towards the phone, not moving the position of his hand. He watches the smoke coming out of his skin carefully as heart speeds up anxiously.

"Smoke is this strong?" he asks no one and brings the phone towards his hand. Still not believing what had just happened, he raises his empty hand and tries to make the same ball of smoke he did minutes ago. 

"No way I have powers," says Changkyun as he plays with the ball of smoke above his palm. He then remembered the explosion outside his window earlier and suspects that his _powers_ were responsible for it, along with the suspicious laser. And to prove his hypothesis, he swings his hand to his left faster than a blink, pointing it towards the bookshelf and just in a split second, a sharp trail of smoke flew towards the shelf, creating a loud explosion. As if the smoke has a mind of its own, it travels to the black-haired's body and Changkyun only watches how the smoke absorbs into the boy's skin, getting goosebumps at the sight. To his surprise, he blew up the entire top half of the shelf and immediately regret exploding all his books.

 _So I have powers,_ he says in his head, not knowing whether to be scared or excited. Never in a million years would Changkyun have thought he'd be able to say that.

Later that night, the neighborhood became silent, a little too eerie for Changkyun's liking. Unlike today, he'll always hear his neighbors fighting, children laughing and cars passing by even past midnight. Today, all he hear is the shrieking sound of the wind surrounding his ears. He shuts his eyes tighter, forcing himself to sleep. He tries to ignore the deafening sound and soon manages to fall asleep.

_"Arrogant. Selfish. That's what you are."_

_"You left us to die because you took pride in your powers."_

_"You are nothing but a monster!"_

Changkyun rolls over his bed as the different voices plays themselves in his head.

_"People like you are the reason for our country's downfall."_

_Who are these people?_

Changkyun isn't awake, he knows that, but he can't seem to wake up from his slumber. He tries opening his eyes, using as much energy he could but little did he know because of this, trails of smoke emits from his skin, head to toe. It circles around his body, covering the entire room in smoke. It took him a couple of minutes to finally, due to the smell, notice the thick smoke surrounding him. It isn't a good sign, his neighbors might be suspicious of him. So he used his remaining energy to cut the invisible stitches on his eyes which let out sharp shards of smoke all around his room, banging the walls loudly. He took in deep breaths as he gets up from his bed before looking around his room to see his things strewn on the floor, making his room messier than before. He took in one last sight of the room before groaning in anger. 

Changkyun concludes that he isn't gifted.

He's cursed.


	2. Smoke Fight

It's a warm day. The sky has a light blue color painted on it with pure white clouds decorating it. The cool breeze plays along with the leaves of trees, making some of them fall. The streets are crowded with locals and visitors while the roads are experiencing heavy traffic.

Changkyun isn't completely sure why are there more people than usual today but he shrugs it off as he takes another sip of his coffee. He stares outside the glass window beside him as people walk past him, not giving him a glance. He watches as a child runs across the road without looking at his sides into the arms of an older lady, probably the child's grandmother. Changkyun finds himself grinning when he sees the child being nagged by the lady. He lets out a small chuckle and takes another sip.

_**BZZ** _

He feels a strong vibration in the pocket of his sweatpants which cut him off from his trance. He takes out the item and lets out a soft sigh. It's from his _Infection Locator_ , as what he calls it, which is to find others who were infected by the blast waves that happened three years ago. He creates the lousy device as a way to help others, surprising himself with his kind decision to do so. But another reason for the creation is to find an ally.

For three years, Changkyun tried hard to find an ally who'll help him in making an antidote for the powers, or what he'd like to call it, a curse. However, within these three years, he found out there were many who were infected but there are two different types of them: _Robust_ and _Feeble_. It's a term made by the society which is then used in the government as well. _Robust_ are those who were infected to become stronger while _Feeble_ is the opposite—infected to become weaker. The common thing between these two is both of them have their own unique abilities. Robusts are hardly noticeable as they fit in well with the normal ones with their physical looks. 

Unlike Robusts, Feebles are easier to spot. They usually have decaying grey skin and are at the edge of dying. The powers they developed were the only reason why they were still alive. The more they use their abilities, the weaker they will get. Until now, there hasn't been a cure for them and Seoul's death rate keeps increasing every day.

After Changkyun came across the first Feeble, which surprised him, he decided to try and find an antidote for them so they can be healthy. Changkyun may be a wanted criminal three years ago but the alarming change in death rate feared him. He knew it might be impossible to create a cure by himself especially since he barely knows anything about the explosion and hence, his urge to find an ally is stronger. However, there is an exception. His ally has to be a Robust and believes these powers have to be taken away from them, or hate them in general. This way, all of them will have a purpose in trying to find the antidote for the curse together; but he will have to ensure they are able to help find a cure for the weak too.

The locator vibrates for the second time and Changkyun immediately presses on the button at the side of the item to locate the person. Fortunately, the located person isn't too far from where he is at the moment. So, he quickly finishes his drink and leaves the cafe. He follows the GPS on the item but once he's near the reaching point, screams are heard just in front of him. With widened eyes, he looks up from the locator to see people running towards his direction, screaming in horror. He takes one more glance at his locator to see a blinking red dot at the reaching point, signifying that the person is either extremely near Changkyun or is using excessive powers near him. This time, it's the latter.

 _Another bad luck_ , Changkyun tells himself before keeping his locator in his pockets. Almost every _Infected_ he met within these three years either are criminals or aren't interested in working alongside Changkyun. The remainings are, unfortunately, Feebles.

As Changkyun nears the area, the very familiar smell of smoke greets him. The buildings around him were partly destroyed and the vehicles were all around the area. He lets out one last sigh before putting on his face mask and the hood of his black hoodie.

"Oh, brother. Do you see this?" Changkyun hears an unfamiliar voice. "I waited three years for you to come back to Seoul and finally, I'm able to give you your surprise."

 _Typical villain monologue,_ Changkyun rolls his eyes as he squats down behind the broken car. He watches as an innocent man being surrounded by horrifying creatures that don't exist on Earth. The creatures have a thin bone-like human bodies with their skin sticking to their ribs. Deep black wide eyes with blood-red pupils as their prominent facial features, with a wide mouth and a snake-like tongue. Changkyun furrows his brows in disgusts as he quietly raises his index finger and twirls it around, making the smoke around him follow the path of his finger, playing with it while watching the scene unfold in front of him.

"You think you're so special, brother? Do you think you're more superior than me? Think again."

Changkyun chuckles quietly at the speech as he finally stands up, catching the attention of the villain. Changkyun slowly steps closer to the villain, making the creatures surrounding the victim turn to the hooded boy. Changkyun found himself smirking behind the mask and put his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

"That speech. What movie were you inspired?" Changkyun mockingly asks, earning growls from the deadly creatures.

"Who are you? What makes you so brave to come here?" the villain asks as a smirk slowly appearing on his face. "Are you the city's superhero? That's cute. You should get a superhero outfit though."

Changkyun chuckles as he pauses on his track. "I'd rather wear something comfortable."

The villain rolls his eyes, "Please just leave us alone. You're just a nobody so don't act so brave in front of a Robust."

"Oh but you see," Changkyun pauses as trails of smoke emits out of his body, surprising the villain. "I'm not a nobody."

Just as he ends his short speech, unusual black wolves leap from behind the hooded boy towards the evil creatures, breaking their necks in a bite. Catching the villain off-guard, Changkyun quickly tells the victim to run to safety. The villain notices and raises his palm up, making the ground break as the deadly creatures emerge from them. Changkyun swings his arm forward as soon as he notices the creatures and a sharp trail of smoke comes out of it. The trails of smoke slowly form itself into huge black wolves, bolting towards the creatures furiously. The villain widens his eyes and turns to look at the hooded boy.

"You like them? Those are my pets."

The villain ignores Changkyun's words and dashes towards the boy. "I said leave me alone!"

"I don't want to," Changkyun replies and dodges the villain's punch, giving his foe one instead. "Come on, show me what you're capable of besides handling those ugly things."

"Oh I'll show you what I'm capable of," the villain growls as he stretches out his arm which forms itself into a bone-like skinny arm, just like the creatures, extending itself towards Changkyun. The hooded boy quickly jumps up, forming clouds of smoke to help him get higher. He lands himself on top of a small building, catching his breath.

"Don't hide, smoke boy. Come out and let's fight properly." He watches as the villain extends his arms which forms into bone-like ones. Changkyun raises the side of his lips in disgust as he sees the transformation of the villain.

"That's disgusting," says the hooded boy before jumping straight down towards the enemy. "Heads up!" he shouts before blasting a strong ball of smoke to the villain, pushing Changkyun backward into the wall of a building which he landed perfectly onto.

"Smoke shouldn't be this strong," the enemy complains as he gets up.

"Jokes on you my power isn't just smoke," Changkyun grins and blasts a strong trail of smoke towards the enemy which he dodges. "Ooh, nice dodge."

"You talk a lot," the villain complains as he emerges his minions from the ground around him. "It's annoying."

"I thought we're fighting without helpers?" Changkyun asks as he mixes smoke that emits out of his body and the surroundings to form into wolves, growling aggressively around him towards the villain. "If you have helpers then it's only fair if I have some too."

"Oh, just shut up."

And with that, the creatures charge towards Changkyun swiftly. Changkyun backs away as his wolves attack the creatures which keep emerging from the ground. Changkyun looks away from the wolves to see the enemy missing and as he's about to turn around, he was met with a strong punch in the face instead. Changkyun stumbles upon his steps before quickly getting back onto his two feet. He feels liquid running down his nose and finds himself chuckling when he notices there was blood.

"Should've stabbed me instead," he grins before strong waves of smoke engulfs the enemy violently. Changkyun watches the scene unfolding in front of him amusingly as he wipes the blood with the sleeve of his hoodie. To his surprise, he couldn't see the shadows of the enemy inside the cloud of smoke. He curses under his breath before being kicked onto the floor, hitting his right hand hardly onto the ground. He lifts his head slowly to see the villain having skinny limbs with his skin sticking onto the bones, truly a disgusting sight. Changkyun watches as the man extends his limbs while laughing wickedly.

"I should now," the man grins widely. Just as his sharp-edged arm was about to hit the hooded boy, Changkyun quickly rolls over and send sharp flakes of smoke to the enemy, ignoring the pain in his hand. Lucky for him, some of the flakes hit the villain's arms which made a deep cut on it. Changkyun quickly stands up as his foe groans in pain. The enemy glares at Changkyun and he instantly feels the ground shaking. Bone-like arms emerge from the ground and grab the masked boy's legs, pulling him down. Changkyun lets out a strong wave of smoke around him which immediately broke the necks of the creatures. Changkyun swings his arm out and allows trails of smoke coming out of it wrap itself around the legs of the villain, pulling him towards Changkyun.

"Just give up," Changkyun sniggers before using his free hand to blast a strong ball of smoke towards the enemy while releasing his legs, throwing him to the end of the road. Changkyun leaps to where the man landed with the help of his powers and blast yet another ball of smoke, making the man fall deeper into the ground. Almost immediately, he covers the villain with trails of smoke from their surroundings which then forms into a huge black python, wrapping itself tightly around the foe from head to toe.

Changkyun normalizes his breathing pattern before slowly sauntering towards the defeated man. Changkyun raises the side of his lip upwards despite the man not being able to see it and put his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

"You," the enemy calls with a low and tired voice. "Why the fuck do you want to be a hero? Look at these powers we got, we are superior!"

Changkyun rolls his eyes and reply, "Just shut up. You won't be able to convince me to be on your side. I've heard the same defeated speech hundreds of times so don't bother."

The man's face slowly changes to anger as he tries to escape the python, which he received an aggressive hiss in return. Changkyun smirks and slowly absorbs the smoke in the surrounding to clear the area, leaving the python there.

"Next time," Changkyun pauses as his smirk grows wider. "Don't act so brave in front of a Robust."

Changkyun hisses in pain as he put on the compression glove on his injured hand. He lets out a deep breath of annoyance before leaning against his bed frame. Just as he closes his eyes, the channel on the television changes abruptly, surprising the boy.

_"23-year-old Robust was captured earlier today after destroying a street in Myeongdong. He was found unconscious..."_

Changkyun accidentally lets out a small chuckle as he listens to the news with eyes still closed. He remembers the day he had today and smirks, proud of his actions.

_"We have a witness with us here right now who saw the person who defeated this Robust. Can you tell us what you saw, sir?"_

Changkyun opens one eye to take a peek who the witness the reporter was talking about and raises his brows when he notices it was the brother of the villain.

"He's still alive..." Changkyun utters quietly.

_"He saved me! He saved me from that stupid Robust! But— but he's also a Robust! He's a good one!"_

_Hah, funny._

_"He wore a black hoodie and a black mask. He totally looked like a normal person but woah, he's so cool! I hope there are more Robust like this guy."_

"Oh, dude..." Changkyun trails off as he closes his eyes once again, smiling slightly. "You're gonna get killed soon."

Changkyun knows whoever says or even implies that Robust are horrible people are going to get killed either sooner or later. Ordinary people have a negative impression on Robusts due to most of the crimes happening these days which are done by Robusts. Changkyun, surprisingly, isn't one of them wanted criminal these days.

_**BZZ** _

Changkyun opens his eyes quickly when he heard the sound on his desk. He's surprised to see the locator vibrating aggressively at 7 in the evening and lets out a tired sigh. He raises his left hand and lets the trails of smoke plug in the locator with the cable that's connected to his laptop. This way, he's able to locate exactly where the person is at this moment and their personal information. The locator can only include a GPS and a horrible map that doesn't include the names of the streets or buildings so he'd usually bring his laptop to find exactly where and who the located people are. He forgot his laptop earlier today hence why he only depended on the lousy device.

Changkyun slowly walks up to the desk while the trails of smoke coming out of his body does all the work. He is proud of how well he's able to control his powers now but still finds them very unnecessary to have. Changkyun watches as information of the location and person appear on the screen.

**Name: Lee Jooheon**

**D.O.B: 1994.10.06**

**Blood Type: O**

**Location: Seoul High School**

_High school? Am I going to see an infected student?_

Changkyun didn't think a lot about it and put on his black hoodie before pausing in the middle of his actions. 

_The dude told everyone my outfit..._

Changkyun sighs loudly before taking off his hoodie and put on a long brown coat and glasses instead. He quickly grabs the necessities before exiting the apartment. He hails for a cab and asks the driver to drive slightly faster to his location.

"Are you picking up a younger sibling?" the cab driver asks, starting a conversation.

Changkyun chuckles lowly and shakes his head, "Meeting a friend."

The cab driver hums before nodding. "I heard a rumor saying there's a Robust teacher in the school you're going to. Have you heard about it?"

Changkyun furrows his brows and straightens himself before asking, "A Robust teacher?"

"Yup," the driver nods. "I usually hate Robust, no offense, but I heard that this Robust teacher is nice. I feel like meeting them one day."

"Oh really? Why?"

The driver shrugs and glance at Changkyun from the rear mirror. "I wanna see his powers."

Changkyun grows suspicious of the driver and was about to reply when he feels a strong vibration in the pockets of his coat. He quickly takes it out to see a blinking red dot on the arrow on the GPS—the arrow which supposedly shows Changkyun's location. He widens his eyes and looks up to see the driver staring at him from the mirror.

"What's that?" the driver asks. "Why do you look scared?"

Changkyun clears his throat and quickly presses the button on the locator and put it back into his pockets. "You know, Robusts usually won't show their powers so explicitly."

Changkyun looks outside the window and sees the school in a distance but not too far away. He stays composed in his seat in order to not create a scene in the cab. He waits patiently as he's gradually getting closer to the school, before stopping on a red light.

"I know," the driver pause. "That's why I wanted to see them and maybe be friends with them. That way I can maybe earn their trust and they'll show me their powers."

Changkyun raises a brow and hums, having a negative impression of the driver. As the light turns green, the car moves once again but it didn't stop the driver from glancing back at Changkyun every once in a while. "Do you like Robusts?"

Changkyun looks up and straight into the eyes of the driver from the mirror. He notices the driver's grip on the wheel tighten themselves as he gradually speeds up. Changkyun calms himself down and looks back at the driver, replying with, "Why?"

Just as Changkyun asks his question, the car comes to a halt in front of the school. Changkyun smiles and passes the exact amount of cash to the driver before quickly thank him. He looks around the place to see the buildings being lit up but there is barely anyone outside. He lets out a sigh of relief when he finally got out of the cab, knowing he won't need to fight anyone tonight.

He spoke too soon.

He hears quick footsteps running towards him and Changkyun quickly turns around to see the cab driver. Changkyun steps back as the driver walks closer to him and straighten himself when he's finally in front of Changkyun.

"Hey!" the driver smiles. "I didn't get to answer your question and you didn't answer mine."

Changkyun simply smiles and says that he urgently need to meet his friend right now. However, the driver did not give up. "Come on, I only wanted to know if you like Robusts. Why do I want to know? I'll answer only after you answer the question.

Changkyun steps away from the man and glares at him, gritting his teeth. "I changed my mind. I don't want to know why and I don't want to answer your question. Now leave me alone."

"I asked a simple question," the driver paused, knitting his brows together. "And I want a simple answer."

"If you want to kill me just say so, you fucking Robust," Changkyun spits, preparing himself for the fight.

"Don't fucking call me that," the man grits his teeth. Changkyun notices his hands releasing unusual liquid which fell onto the floor and melts the things they touch.

Changkyun sighs and starts emitting smoke from his body. "I don't want to fight tonight, please."

"You're a Robust," the man spits. "I fucking hate your kinds."

The driver swings his hand, throwing the liquid towards Changkyun which the black-haired boy dodges again. The liquid hitting the tree just behind him and melted the bark. Changkyun sighs and sends sharp shards of smoke towards the driver to which he dodges.

"You're a Robust too."

"I fucking wish I wasn't," the man growls and throws the liquid to Changkyun again. The black-haired shield himself with a smoke forcefield. Changkyun has his eyes widen in surprise when the forcefield melts from the liquid. "This stupid powers made me kill my own family!"

Changkyun dodges the man's powers again as he continues, "I need to kill all existing Robusts, including myself."

"Look, dude," Changkyun dodges yet again. "We can talk this out. I hate having these powers too and I don't want to fight you."

"I don't fucking care if you like or hate your powers. Robusts should have never existed."

Just as the driver's about to throw the liquid to Changkyun again, few thin electrical bolts mixed with fire hit the driver, throwing him a few distances away. Changkyun widens his eyes and turns to the direction where the oddly-looking bolts came from. His mouth fell slightly open when he sees an orange-haired man wearing an odd-looking mask where the area for the mouth is left open with only small metal bars sewn together at the ends to the material of the mask. Changkyun watches as small electrical bolts cover the length of his arm, giving the black-haired goosebumps. 

"What are you doing just standing there? We need to go before he catches us."

Changkyun snaps out of his thoughts and quickly run towards the orange-haired boy, fleeing together to the other side of the school. Changkyun feels a strong vibration on his locator and as he takes it out, there was a blinking red dot on it. The orange-haired boy furrows his brows at the device and turns to Changkyun for an explanation. But instead, Changkyun asks, "Are you Lee Jooheon?"

The said name tilts his head in confusion and slowly nods. "And you are?"

"Im Changkyun," the black-haired replies, smiling slightly and just as Jooheon is about to open his mouth, the side of the wall behind the masked boy melted into a sticky and thick liquid, surprising the two boys. A second later, the familiar face of the driver appears behind the melted wall with a scowl plastered on his face.

"And I found you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you cant imagine how the creatures look like, don't.


	3. Recruitment

"Heads up!"

Changkyun quickly rolls over and throws multiple explosive smoke bombs to the driver, some of them hitting him. Changkyun quickly gets up and runs to the end of the walkway. The driver glares at the boy and just as he runs towards the black-haired, bolts of electricity hit him which threw him hard onto the wall, cracking it a little. 

"Fuck," Jooheon curse under his breath. "Can we not fight on school grounds?"

"Not until I kill the two of you first," the enemy scowls. "Especially you, Jooheon."

He starts to throw the deadly liquid to the boys' direction but Jooheon is quick enough to create an electrical shield. Every drop of the deadly liquid that hits the shield makes it stronger. Changkyun quickly sends a sharp trail of smoke to the enemy from behind the shield which surprisingly hit the target.

"He knows you?" asks Changkyun.

Jooheon shrugs and throws the electrified shield at the enemy. "We've... met before."

Changkyun hums quietly before feeling the ground shake aggressively. He turns to the enemy to see him having both hands on the floor which sends trails of neon green liquid into the ground flowing itself towards the boys' diitself with a great speed, cracking the ground above at every move. Before the liquid manages to reach the two, Changkyun quickly jumps and pushes himself to the side by blasting a wave of smoke behind him while Jooheon dashes to safety. Changkyun lands beside the orange-haired and widens his eyes.

"Super speed?"

"I was surprised too," Jooheon replies as he shoots bolts of electricity to the enemy who is leaping towards them. "Let's stop this, Dongjo. Killing us will not change anything."

"Oh but it will," the enemy spits as he gets up from the ground, wiping away the blood coming out of his lips. "There'll be lesser Robusts to deal with and the infamous Robust teacher in Seoul High School will finally disappear from existence."

Changkyun sends sharp shards of smoke to the enemy before he gets the chance to throw any of his deadly chemicals. Jooheon raises his arms and Changkyun watches in awe as electrical bolts from the orange haired's hands flows towards the two lamp posts beside the enemy, Dongjo.

"I'm sorry for this," Jooheon mutters before making both of the lamp posts explode violently beside him. Changkyun winces at the sight and takes a few steps backward. Jooheon turns to Changkyun and quickly tells him, "We need to go. Follow me."

"Where are we?" Changkyun asks as he looks around the dimly lit room. He notes down the huge total amount of monitors and laptops in the middle of the room and a table filled with solutions and various science apparatus at one end of the room. He didn't fail to notice the bookshelf filled with superhero comics just at the other end of the room too.

Jooheon raises both his arms up and walks backward with a wide smile. Changkyun notices the color of his hair slowly fading from orange to charcoal black as the mask disappears from a wipe of an electrical bolt. "Welcome to my underground lab where I spent most of my time when I'm not working!"

"Your..." Changkyun trails off, pointing to Jooheon's hair. "Your hair."

"It changes at times, usually it's orange if I use excessive powers or is charging up for a fight." Jooheon shrugs and walks over to the fridge beside one of the desks with multiple huge monitors. "Want a beer?"

"Um, yeah sure. Beer is cool," Changkyun pauses as Jooheon passes him a can of beer. "Can I borrow one of your computers?"

Jooheon takes another sips and nods. Changkyun quickly sits on the leather chair and starts pressing various keys on the keyboard. Jooheon looks over at the screen and asks, "What're you doing?"

"Deleting any footage that might've seen the fight earlier," Changkyun replies, eyes never leaving the screen. ”Or any that might’ve seen my face.”

"You're a hacker?" Jooheon asks as he places his beer can beside Changkyun's.

"Surprised?"

"Kind of?" Jooheon says, unsure of his reply. "I mean with your coat and all, you look like you just got out of campus."

Changkyun chuckles at the reply. "Well, I usually wear a hoodie but—" he pauses, trying to find a different way to explain his situation. "But I thought I needed a change."

Jooheon hums and jumps onto the other leather chair, pushing himself so he'll be beside the black-haired. "Were you the one who defeated the Robust in Myeong-dong earlier?"

Changkyun pauses what he was doing and turns to Jooheon. "You saw?"

He nods before saying, "I was preparing things for my class tomorrow when that news came up. You were lucky he didn't talk about your powers in the news though."

Changkyun hums as the tab showing a 1% on the delete bar pop up on the screen. He turns his chair around to look at Jooheon dead in the eyes. "So you're a teacher?"

Jooheon nods and leans into his chair. "You haven't heard the rumor about the Robust teacher in Seoul High School?"

Changkyun shakes his head in response and mutters, "To be honest, I thought you were a student at first."

Jooheon lets out a half-hearted laugh. " _Infecteds_ aren't allowed in the school."

"What?"

Jooheon purses his lips together before continuing, "All the infected students were kicked out of the school after the explosion happened. Whereas the teachers, only two of us were infected. Me and..." he pauses before sighing. "And Dongjo."

"Dongjo? The one we fought earlier?"

Jooheon nods with sadness laced in his orbs, "He was a senior of mine in the teaching industry and I was still new to the school when the explosion happened. We were the closest friends among the others so it was a coincidence that only the two of us were the only teachers who were infected. The school told us to hide our powers and not tell anyone if we wanted to stay. Because this is the only school that called me back to accept me, I couldn't waste this opportunity. So the two of us were silent about our powers and pretended we were ordinary people.

Two years ago, the news of Dongjo killing his family using his abilities spread out among us teachers. They decided to kick him out in fear of him hurting the students too. He pleaded for help, especially from me, by saying it was an accident and he has no control of his powers yet. I was told not to interfere with his situation and was threatened to not help him. From that moment onwards, he hated being a Robust and everyone in among them. He lost trust in me and spread the news that there was a Robust teacher in Seoul High School, knowing it'll get me killed by spreading that news and if he didn't manage to kill me first.

Ever since then until now, our school had been in danger. Multiple Robusts came busting in our school to find this one teacher and we spent too much money on repairment from damages. I was threatened to leave the school and was hated by every teacher there. This makes me hate being a Robust too. So I made a deal with them.

If I decide to protect the school from these enemies as I'm the one they're all looking for, they'll stop threatening me to leave and stop these negative atmosphere. They agreed and lessen my classes to a class per week so I can be more prepared when there's a danger. I trained myself how to fight and control these abilities and spent most of my teaching years walking around the school to protect everyone. They place me in the discipline department so none of the students would be suspicious of me walking around halls and the building during lesson hours."

"Woah," was the first thing Changkyun said as his mouth fell wide open. "That's a lot to take in. So, let me get this straight, you want your powers to disappear right? You hate them?"

Jooheon nods and gives out a soft sigh. "I came to this school not to become a bodyguard but to teach. I wanted to be a teacher and not a superhero. It's probably better if I left but it's hard to find a job nowadays, especially if you're a Robust."

"Why didn't the school just turn him up to the police?" Changkyuns asks as he stares at the teacher's comic collection on the bookshelf at the side of the room.

"He escaped," Jooheon sighs. "Anyway, how did the fight happen anyway?"

"Well, I was on my way to Seoul High School to find you but because it's further away from my apartment, I thought I'd get a cab instead. Turns out he was the driver and things just happened there."

"Cab driver?" Jooheon asks, raising a brow in disbelief before chuckling. "Maybe that's how he told people about the _rumor_."

Changkyun hums before taking out the locator. "Remember this?" he asks, shaking the device in his hand. "This is a Robust locator, a lousy one. This thing brought me to you. Why do I need this? Because I need to find an ally."

"Ally..?"

"I want to find an antidote for these stupid powers and I'm trying to find a small team to help me. For three years, all I found were Feebles, enemies and those who could care less about these powers. I have yet to find a single person to help me. I need someone who's willing to help me destroy these stupid abilities," Changkyun pauses and gives a small smile to Jooheon. "Can you help?"

Jooheon feels the sides of his lips tug upwards and reply, "Gladly."

Changkyun throws his fist in the air in happiness before continuing, "But help me find a cure for the Feebles first."

"You want to be a hero?"

"Please, that's the last thing I want to be." Changkyun rolls his eyes and turns his chair back towards the monitor. "Seoul's death rate has been increasing day by day and the sight of Feebles are so uneasy, especially knowing they are practically dead if it wasn't for their powers."

"I agree," Jooheon replies. "Okay, I'm in. Let's help then."

Changkyun pushes a few keys before finally shutting down the computer. He turns his chair around to look at Jooheon with a wide smile on his face. "Thank you, man."

Jooheon chuckles and stands up, taking his beer can to finish it. "So just the two of us?"

Changkyun shrugs before replying, "Maybe we can have one or two more people. I mean, we still don't know how to find the cure for these powers so..."

"Let's start researching then."

"Can we start tomorrow?" Changkyun pleads. "I had a long day today — I had two fights. I want a rest."

Jooheon chuckles as he takes out his phone. "Sure, you can rest while _I_ start researching. Call me if you have any updates or what-so-ever," he says as he shows Changkyun his number. Changkyun immediately saves it in his phone and stands up, finishing his beer. Jooheon led him to the front entrance and bid Changkyun goodbye. The hacker then returns home happily despite knowing he still won't get any good night sleep due to the curse. Nevertheless, he was beyond happy to finally found his first ally.

**_BZZ_ **

**_BZZ_ **

Changkyun slams his hand onto the locator to shut it up. He groans as he rubs his eyes and throws the locator towards his laptop. He emits smoke from his body which forms trails to help the hacker connect the locator to his laptop. He waits until all the information are shown on the screen and lazily raises his head and squints his eyes to see it clearer.

**Name: Lee Minhyuk**

**D.O.B: 1993.11.03**

**Blood Type: A**

**Location: Drama Cafe**

He groans and shuts his eyes again before slamming his head back into his pillow. "Fuck, that's so far," he complains before sighing loudly. "Let's hope this guy is okay."

He quickly gets up from his bed and takes a quick shower before putting on a white tee tugged into his skinny black jeans, followed by a white bomber jacket and a black mask. He contemplated on whether to bring his laptop but ended up placing it inside his bag before exiting his apartment. He follows the GPS as he walks on the empty street. He refused taking the cab despite the far distance after what happened yesterday. He put in his airpods and blast his music loudly in his ears.

As he walks in the vacant street, he admires the beauty around him. The beautiful scent of nature and the delightful scenery painted around him makes him calmer than before. Just as he turns his face to the front, a person around his height in a black hoodie bumps harshly into his shoulder. He immediately turns around to see the person, who also turns around, to see a man around around his thirties staring back at him. The man nods before quickly walking away. Changkyun blinks multiple times to ensure his eyes weren't playing with him.

When the man bumps into him, he swore they were around the same height. However, when he turns around to see the man, he seemed to be around three inches taller than Changkyun. Despite his suspicion, he doubts the man is a Robust as his locator didn't ring. He blinks one last time before shrugging it off or at least tries to.

It took him around thirty minutes more before finally reaching his destination. He takes in a deep breath and walks into the cafe in front of him, immediately walking to the counter. Due to his thirst, he decided to also buy a drink since he's there. As the barista walks towards the counter, Changkyun sees a red blinking dot on the locator and smiles softly, before suddenly feeling a vibration on the device, notifying that it has located yet another infected.

"What may I get you?" the barista interrupts him. Changkyun quickly hides his locator in the pockets of his jacket.

"Two things. Get me a regular-sized iced americano," Changkyun says after taking out his mask as he waits for the dark blue-haired barista to key in his order. "And I need to see a person named Lee Minhyuk."

The barista's head shoots up as he looks at the black-haired curiously. "What for?"

"I have to talk to him about something important."

The barista hums, "I'm Lee Minhyuk. Is there anything you need from me?"

Changkyun widens his eyes, ignoring the constant vibration of his device. "Can we have a minute to talk later?"

Minhyuk glances at his watch and nods hesitantly. "I'll have a break in a short while. Name?"

"Im Changkyun," the hacker smiles as he passes the cash. Minhyuk returns the smile and prints out the receipt. "I'll see you later?"

Minhyuk nods as he starts to make the hacker's drink. Changkyun quickly finds a vacant table at the end of the cafe, accidentally made eye contact with a brown-haired lanky boy while doing so but shrugs it off. Once he's seated, he takes out his laptop and his locator, except he can't find the latter. He taps the pocket of his jacket multiple times but feels nothing. He bends his head to look in the pocket which, just like what he felt, have nothing in it. He swore he places it in the pocket of his jacket but proceeds to check the other pockets he has in his outfit.

_How does this thing work?_

Changkyun widens his eyes as the voice in his head asks the question. However, it isn't his voice but an unfamiliar one instead.

_What's this?_

Changkyun wonders how he should reply to the voice, whoever it belongs to. He knows someone is in his mind right now, most probably reading it too.

_Reply in your head, literally. It's that easy._

_Shut up,_ Changkyun starts. _Did you take my device?_

 _Mhm_ , the voice replies happily. _What is it?_

_None of your concerns. Give it back._

There's a short pause before the voice finally replies, _You see, it actually **is** my concern. __I'm the person you found on this... thing. Look, whatever it is, don't involve me in whatever you're planning on doing. I'll only give this back to you if you promise not to disturb me again._

Changkyun sighs and tries to look around the cafe only to find himself frozen on the spot. He can't seem to move a single limb as much as he tries to.

 _Don't bother trying,_ the voice says, sounding almost mocking the hacker. _Tell me how to shut this thing off then I'll give it to you._

Changkyun grits his teeth aggressively before replying, _Press the button on the left. Then return the device back to me and I won't bother you anymore._

_Very well then._

_And please,_ Changkyun begs. _Get the fuck out of my head._

Changkyun only hears a soft chuckle as a response before finally feeling his fingers moving. He was about to finally look around the cafe when his name is being called by the blue-haired barista to collect his drink. He sighs and takes his iced americano from the barista's hand.

"I'll come to you in a second," Minhyuk says. "I need to do something real quick."

Changkyun nods and walks back to his seat to see the locator lying openly on the table. He quickly keeps it inside his pocket again and glances around the room. He sits on his chair and stares at his laptop in front of him before placing it back into his bag with a sigh. He takes a few sips of his americano and stares outside of the big window beside him while waiting for Minhyuk.

It suddenly feels like yesterday. The streets slowly start to be filled up as more people are entering the cafe. Passer-bys not glancing at Changkyun while talking animatedly to each other. His trance was however interrupted when he hears the chair in front of him being pulled. He turns to the front to see the blue-haired barista taking a seat in front of Changkyun without his apron this time.

Changkyun was about to open his mouth to speak when Minhyuk interrupts him by whispering, "You're a Robust."

Changkyun's eyes widen as he stares at the barista. "How do you know..?"

"Your heart rate is quicker than ordinary people," Minhyuk continues to whisper in the noisy room. "Infecteds' heartbeats are usually faster than normal and you don't look like a Feeble either, at least not physically."

Changkyun leans towards the barista with a pout filled with confusion. "And again, how do you know...?"

Minhyuk raises his brows and gives a soft smile. "I can hear your heartbeat," he whispers.

Changkyun raises his brows in return and blinks multiple times. "Enhanced hearing? That's cool."

Minhyuk nods and leans closer to the hacker. "There are two other Robusts here," he whispers.

Changkyun immediately looks around to the cafe to possibly try to spot out the Robusts. Minhyuk only chuckles and says, "They won't show up obviously."

"Do you know who?" Changkyun asks, hoping to find the owner of the voice in his head minutes ago.

Minhyuk shakes his head and replies, "There are too many people in the room, it's hard to specifically spot out which heartbeat belongs to who."

Changkyun sighs before finally realizing something. "Wait, if there are two other Robusts here, why isn't my locator acting up?"

Minhyuk blinks at Changkyun in confusion. "Sorry, what locator?"

"I made a Locator to find infected people and that's how I found you," Changkyun answers. "I found another one but he went into my head to force me to not make him involved in whatever I'm planning on doing."

Minhyuk hums, "That reminds me, what exactly do you need to talk to me about?"

Changkyun stares at Minhyuk before whispering, "I'm trying to find an antidote for these powers—"

"I'm in," Minhyuk cuts him off. "No matter what it takes, I want to help and find an antidote. These abilities are driving me crazy."

"That was easy," Changkyun chuckles. "But help me find a cure for Feebles first?"

"Sure," Minhyuk replies simply and just as Changkyun opens his mouth to reply, the barista interrupts again. "One Robust just left the cafe," Minhyuk whispers and glance outside the wide window. "That dude right there. He usually visits the cafe to study."

Changkyun follows where the barista's eyes were looking and was somehow surprised that the brown-haired boy he saw in the cafe earlier was one of the Robust. Changkyun's eyes follow the lanky boy, not noticing Minhyuk who is now wide-eyed.

"There's someone beside you," Minhyuk says quickly before grabbing Changkyun's iced americano and splashes it beside the hacker. Changkyun widens his eyes and turns to his side to see an nothing but water droplets dripping from whatever's beside him, knowing it wasn't from the ceiling. Customers invert their attention to the two boys and some starts screaming at the trail of dripping coffee walking around the room.

"A Robust!" a woman screams which made the entire cafe scream in horror as they quickly start to run out of the room.

Changkyun is confused why his locator isn't ringing but when he feels his pocket, it's once again empty. "My locator..."

Minhyuk's eyes follow where the invisible Robust went before hearing the same vibration sound he heard when Changkyun was waiting by the counter. 

"The Robust has your locator," Minhyuk tells Changkyun as he urges the customers and co-workers to leave the room.

Changkyun sighs and ensures no one is in the room except the two boys and the other Robust. "Can you fight?"

"No..." Minhyuk replies just as he hears a sound of quick motion heading towards Changkyun. "Watch out!" he shouts before throwing a big, sharp shard of ice coming directly from his hand beside Changkyun, followed by a loud bang. The black-haired widens his eyes and turns to where the ice landed to see a table with its face stuck on the wall with the shard planted right in the middle of it, keeping it up from falling.

"At least you can control your powers," Changkyun says as he emits out smoke from his body, still amazed at Minhyuk's accuracy. "Whoever you are, please return me back my device. I don't want to fight you."

"Please," an unfamiliar voice replies somewhere near him. "Let's just have a battle, shall we?"

Just as Changkyun prepares for a fight, he hears a loud groan from the unfamiliar voice who gradually loses his invisibility right in front of him. The man is holding Changkyun's locator in his right hand and a knife in the other as his body can't seem to move from his position, reminding him of what happened to the hacker earlier.

"Coward," a familiar voice chuckles mockingly by the entrance of the cafe. Changkyun and Minhyuk turn to where the voice came from to see the brown-haired Robust who exited the cafe moments ago. He's leaning against the wall beside the door with his arms folded, a calm expression painted on his face. The brown-haired turns to Changkyun with a poker face before muttering, "Take it. It's yours, isn't it?"

Changkyun furrows his brows in confusion when the brown-haired gestures to Changkyun’s side with his eyes. He turns to see his locator floating beside him and quickly grabs it before placing it inside the pocket of his jeans this time. The lanky boy chuckles as he strolls towards the enemy.

"Remember to come with a friend next time," the brown-haired chuckles which the enemy smirks in response.

"It's unfair to fight one on three, you're right," the man smirks wider. "So let's have a fair fight, shall we?"

A scene of what's going to happen in the next minute plays itself inside the brown-haired’s head and he glares in return. He slowly composes himself before backing away from the frozen man, eyes still glaring into his orbs.

"Prepare yourselves, boys," he tells both the barista and hacker behind him as the side of his lips tug upwards calmly. "We have a party coming our way."


	4. The Menacing Device

"Look out!" Minhyuk warns as he pushes Changkyun backward before running in the opposite direction.

Just as Changkyun falls onto the floor, a big car crashes into the cafe from the window, breaking it to pieces as the shards fly around the place. The brown-haired boy glances over his shoulders before smirking at the frozen man in front of him. Changkyun watches as a woman dressed in a tight light brown jumpsuit with an eye mask and cat ears jumping on top of the car with a wide Cheshire smile plastered on her face. She sits onto the side of the car which was facing upwards with one of her legs over the other as a buff man with the size of a Hulk made up of rocks stomps behind her. The woman glances at the rock man before grinning wider, if that's even possible, as she fixes her brunette hair casually.

"Are you satisfied with how you look now?" the lanky boy asks as he smirks at the female with his arms inside the pockets of his coat. The woman turns to look at him and smirks.

"Indeed I am, pretty boy," the woman replies as she folds her arms together. "The name's Dior and I believe you own a Robust locator." 

Changkyun quickly gets up from the floor and steps away from the villains as quietly as he can. The lanky boy sees the hacker and tells him to stay in his position in his head. Changkyun follows the order and stops moving as he watches Minhyuk hiding behind the counter.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Dior," the lanky boy replies as he steps away from the frozen villain who's still groaning in pain. "Are you not worried about your friend right here?"

Dior smirks and leans forward, "I could care less about him. All I want is your precious locator."

The lanky boy notices the villain gesturing his eyes to the side and decides to squeeze his mind forcefully, making him groan louder. "That's a shame because I don't have it. Maybe come back next time," the brown-haired replies.

"Liar liar, pants on fire," Dior sings before jumping down the exact same time the rock man breaks the car into half, growling furiously as he glares straight at the lanky boy. "We can end this peacefully if you just give me the locator."

"I like fights so can we do that instead?" the lanky boy asks before throwing tables to the two villains using his psychokinesis powers. The thrown items were quickly smashed to pieces by the rocky man and they were met with their frozen friend in front of him alone. Dior looks around the store to not see anyone in the cafe and growls in anger before the man in front of him suddenly falls to the ground, almost lifeless.

"Where did he go?" Dior scowls.

The man takes in deep breaths before replying in a soft voice, "I don't know."

Dior growls louder before whispering in reply, "Useless." She quickly gestures the rock man before walking away from the cafe and in a split second, he punches his huge fist to the now lifeless man on the floor. Dior knits her brows in anger as she looks around the street to see no one. She hears footsteps slowly stomping towards her and glances over her shoulder.

"Don't worry," she growls. "They can't hide for long."

The lanky boy watches as the female leaves with her stone ally from the roof of the building. He smirks calmly before turning around to look at the two boys. "See? Short and simple."

Changkyun rolls his eyes and leans against the vent before replying, "Said you like fighting then proceeds to flee like a coward."

"Hey," the lanky boy glares at the black-haired. "First of all, I said I like fights, not fighting. Those are two different things. Second, this isn't fleeing, this is escaping."

"Sure, different indeed," Changkyun replies as he shuts his eyes. "Walked in on us about to fight the invisible dude, after forcing me to not include you in whatever I'm gonna do and immediately took control of his mind."

The brown-haired glares at the hacker as he replies, "Be thankful that I saved your life."

"I could've fought him," Changkyun deadpans, opening his eyes just to glare at the lanky boy. "And I will definitely stay to fight the woman and her rock buddy if it wasn't for you practically pulling me along with you."

"Minhyuk can't fight and if I hadn't come, you would've fought the three of them alone!" the brown-haired replies in anger.

"And what makes you think I can't?" Changkyun asks as the side of his lips raised in annoyance. "I've fought multiple Robusts for three entire years yet here I am, still breathing and in one piece."

The lanky boy is silent as his eyes travel to the hacker's right hand which has a compression glove on it. "You could've gotten yourself killed—"

" _I_ kill them," Changkyun growls in response. "These powers aren't meant to be misused yet so many people are playing with it. They couldn't be stopped and the last resort was to kill them, making them unconscious wasn't even a choice for some."

The lanky boy stays silent before taking in a deep breath as he notices how serious the hacker is being. He glances at the barista before quickly composing himself in front of Changkyun. He raises his hand towards Changkyun for a handshake and smiles while greeting himself.

"The name's Chae Hyungwon and I want to help you in finding an antidote for these powers," the lanky boy says. " _And_ help the Feebles, yeah that too."

"You went into my mind when I was discussing with Minhyuk, huh?" Changkyun raises a brow before slowly accepting the handshake. "Im Changkyun."

"I know," Hyungwon grins. "Minhyuk shouts your name when he wanted to pass you your drink."

"I was aware of that," Changkyun replies as he leans his head onto the vent, closing his eyes again. "So both of you can't fight, am I right?"

"No no," Minhyuk quickly answers. "Just me."

"Nah, I don't think Hyungwon can fight either." Changkyun grins as he opens his eyes to look at the lanky boy with a smirk. "He didn't fight on both situations earlier. He only used his powers, talks coolly and runs away."

Hyungwon clears his throat as he looks away from the black-haired. "I'm better at controlling my powers," he says awkwardly.

Changkyun chuckles as he earns a glare from the lanky boy before taking out the locator from his pocket. He examines it and sees a few cracks at the side of the screen. He presses every button present but nothing comes up on the screen. He sighs and stands up.

"It's spoilt," he mumbles as he places it back into his pocket. "I'll get going."

"Woah, woah. So the day just ends here?" Hyungwon asks as he jogs up to the hacker. 

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, I mean," Hyungwon shakes his head. "We escaped a fight and we just pretend everything is normal and do what we were doing before this? No group meeting or whatever?"

Changkyun turns around and raises a brow. "You're really serious about this, huh?"

"Aren't you?"

Instead of replying, Changkyun quietly takes out his phone and opens his keypad. "Give me your numbers, I'll inform you two if we have any meetings in the future."

Changkyun sighs as he leans back into his chair. His mind keeps reminding him he has three people on his side throughout the process of fixing his locator. He sighs again and glances at the broken locator in front of him. He isn't sure what was the source of the crack but he suspects it was when Minhyuk pushed him to the ground. He stares at the item and contemplates whether if he should even fix it, seeing he already found allies. He taps his fingers on the desk, eyes never leaving the device.

The room is dim with only the warm light from the desk lamp lighting the area. It was silent with only the howls of the wind playing themselves around Changkyun. He stares at the device as memories of the past plays themselves inside his head. Because of this device, he found many who needed saving but also fought for the safety of others and himself. No one ever knew about the device except his new allies but after the enemies from earlier in the day found out about it, the news will spread and he will live in constant danger with people tracking him down. He may need to find more people to work with, but the bigger the group, the more chances a betrayer exists within them.

The sudden gust of cold wind hitting his open neck breaks him from his trance. He glances at the window for a split second before slowly moving his hand towards the device. He wraps his fingers around it, glancing over his shoulder to feel another strong gust of wind. He straightens himself and put the device into the pocket of his jeans as subtle as possible. The place becomes eerier with only the hacker's soft breathing can be heard, but he knows he's not alone.

"Can I help you?" Changkyun asks, breaking the silence.

A second of silence is present before Changkyun hears a soft chuckle behind him, making the hacker grin. "I thought I was being stealthy," a soft female voice replies.

"Leave me alone."

He hears soft footsteps walking towards the boy before the voice says, "I need to ask a favor from you."

Changkyun chuckles before standing up, still not facing the female behind him. "I don't do favors from strangers," he says as he walks towards the window.

"Im Changkyun, please hear it first, then you can decide." Changkyun gulps before telling the female to continue hesitantly. "My name is Im Sangah and I am a scientist who's studying on the abilities of the Infected. I was told that you own an Infection Locator and hence I am here to meet you."

Changkyun blinks before replying, "Who exactly told you?"

"Who told me is not important," she pauses. "I only need the locator and then I will leave you alone."

Changkyun breathes before turning around to look at the woman standing in front of him. Her bangs covering her forehead while her hair flows behind her. She's wearing a black turtleneck and pants with a long brown coat over it. He notices how she's wearing black heel boots which may be a hassle to fight with.

"You look familiar," Changkyun says, raising a brow. "Anyway, there are other ways to meet me. This," he pauses, gesturing to Sangah, "is trespassing someone else's property so I suggest you leave me alone."

"I come in peace, Changkyun," Sangah says as she moves closer. "I don't want to fight you."

"This villain strategy is overused," says the hacker as he folds his arms together lazily. "It's either you leave me alone now or we'll fight."

Sangah takes out her katana from the scabbard beneath her coat and plants the tip of it onto the floor as she looks at Changkyun with bored eyes. "I assure you, Changkyun, you won't be able to defeat me. Give me the locator and I'll leave you alone. I keep my words."

Changkyun straightens himself as his eyes bore into Sangah's. "Your words don't convince me, Ma'am."

In a blink, Sangah raises her katana towards Changkyun, pointing the tip directly in front of the boy's Adam's apple. "I asked nicely."

"And now you're threatening me," Changkyun replies, earning a slight glare from the female. Sangah keeps her katana at the same position for a second longer before bringing it back down.

"My apologies," she says as she straightens herself. "I don't wish to hurt you, Changkyun, for many reasons. Those were just instincts of mine."

Changkyun rolls his eyes and walks past the girl towards his desk. Sangah has her eyes glued to every move the boy makes. Changkyun quietly taps onto the desk and glances over his shoulder. "And why is that so? Why do you not wish to hurt me."

"For reasons I can't say," was the response from Sangah. "Do not make this difficult for both of us and give me the locator."

"You did say I should hear what favor you wanted from me first before I give my answer. Now I know what you want from me, my answer is," Changkyun pauses before turning around to Sangah with a wide grin. "Fuck off."

Sangah growls in anger before swinging her katana straight to the boy's neck. Changkyun's grin slowly disappears as a small smoke forcefield creates itself beside his neck, blocking the katana from slicing his neck. Sangah glares at the boy who returns her the same expression.

"Shall we fight, Im Sangah?"

Sangah furrows her brows in anger before pulling her katana away from the boy's neck. She quickly straightens herself and gives an annoyed sigh. "I don't want to fight you, neither do I want to hurt you. I'm sorry."

"Why?" Changkyun asks curiously. "Why are you so against the thought of fighting me?"

Instead of a reply, Sangah keeps her mouth shut as her orbs bore into Changkyun's. Changkyun keeps the eye contact for a minute longer before sighing in defeat. Nothing is going to happen if they stay this way, so, Changkyun hesitantly takes out the locator with his eyes still glued to Sangah's. Changkyun holds the locator with his palm open, facing it towards Sangah. "This is the dumb locator you're looking for," Changkyun pauses as he glances at the locator. Sangah moves closer, eyes never leaving the device. The moment her hand raises to grab it, Changkyun quickly pulls away.

"But I'm afraid it's broken," Changkyun growls through gritted teeth as he slams the locator harshly onto the desk and breaks it into pieces with the help of his explosive powers. Trails of smoke flow out of the broken device and dissolve into his skin. To his surprise, instead of a tantrum, Sangah only stares at the area where the locator exploded before slowly locking eyes with the boy with the same unamused eyes from before.

"Very well then," she breaks the silence as she keeps her katana back into the scabbard by her hips. "I came here only for the locator. It was a pleasant meeting, Im Changkyun," says the female as she gives the boy one last glance before dissolving into thin air and feels a strong gust of wind towards the window a second later. 

Changkyun quickly turns his head towards the window and blinks suspiciously. Not only does the female look somehow familiar to him, but she oddly left him without a proper fight or argument. His track of thoughts was then interrupted by the faint beeping sound in front of him. He ensures his ears aren't playing games with him and turns back to the front as the sound gradually quicken. His eyes widen when he sees a red blinking light where Sangah was standing moments ago. In lightning speed, he grabs his hoodie and quickly jumps out of the window. The second his feet left the frame, a loud explosion erupted in his room. The wave from the explosion pushes him further away from the building but luckily, with his powers, he manages to survive the hard fall despite scraping his bare knees on the road and injured his ribs. Groaning in pain, he slowly raises his head to look at the burning room and the broken window frame with rooms beside and below his were badly affected by the explosion as well. Noises and screams are quickly heard all around him so he gets up quickly and limps to somewhere no one would see him. Little did he know, Sangah has been staring at him from the roof a few buildings away.

_**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK** _

The door opens and a glaring Jooheon is the first thing Changkyun sees as he raises his head hesitantly. He gives a slight smile and tries to straighten himself.

"Jooheon—"

"Let's get you treated before we start talking," the teacher says as he gives way for the hacker to enter. On the couch sat the two men Changkyun befriended earlier in the day. They two of them assists Changkyun onto the couch as Jooheon walks towards the kitchen to grab the first aid kit and alcohol. The silence in the room was deafening until Jooheon enters the room again and immediately says, "You can explain yourself now."

Changkyun watches as Jooheon takes out cotton pads with few drops of alcohol on it and dabs it onto the huge bruise on Changkyun's knee. Changkyun sighs before straightening his back or tries to.

"So we're in danger."

Those four words catch all three men's attention as they stopped whatever they were doing and turn to Changkyun. Changkyun glances at the reactions plastered on their faces before clearing his throat.

"Jooheon, I'm sorry for asking two strangers to go to your house without you knowing but I believe this is the safest place for our first meeting."

"It's okay," Jooheon pauses as he bandages the boy's knee. "We're officially starting, huh?"

"There's no other choice," Changkyun frowns. "If no one had seen the locator, we wouldn't need to start this soon but because someone saw it, the locator has become a threat and we're becoming a target. I believe the news has been spread among the villains and who knows what they are planning on using that for."

"Was this what made you injured this bad?" Minhyuk asks with concern and fear lacing in his voice.

Changkyun nods and sighs, "Someone went to my house to ask for the locator. I suspect she works with the villains from our fight earlier today. I thought we wouldn't need the locator anymore since there are enough people in the team so I broke it in front of her. Weirdly enough, she left right after without any fight but left a bomb behind which blew up my apartment. I was lucky enough to jump out of the window just as the bomb explodes."

"You jumped out of the window?!" Jooheon interrupts the hacker. "From which floor?!"

Changkyun avoids eye contact and replies, "That's not important. It's good enough that I'm still alive."

"I have an idea," was the first thing Hyungwon said throughout the entire conversation as he turns to Changkyun. "How about you give this idea up and get some rest?"

"What, no!" was the hacker's immediate response. "Then who's gonna find the antidote?"

"Us," Hyungwon pauses. "Without you. I mean look at you, you're too injured right now. Hospitals also don't accept Infecteds and there's not one specially for our kinds too. You need time to heal or your wound will worsen."

"But I can't! I'm their main target because I owned the locator. Even if it's broken, they may still look for me. These wounds can heal while we find the antidote."

"You're right," Jooheon agrees from the kitchen counter. "But I agree with Hyungwon too. Your hand is still injured, and now your knee is too."

"My rib too..." Changkyun mumbles.

"See! You're not in the right condition to fight. I feel like we won't be able to find the antidote without coming across these people again."

"And I feel like the locator is a hint on how to find the antidote," Minhyuk chimes in. "I don't know what or how but they want the locator to find more infected people. I feel like this has something got to do with the antidote."

"It may be..." Jooheon trails off. "I've tried researching some stuff but I got close to zero answers."

Changkyun suddenly claps his hands loudly and leans forwards. "So, if that's the case, how should we start?"

"I don't know, how do superheroes in he comics do it?" Hyungwon asks as he switches on his phone again.

"Oh my god, should I bring out all my superhero comics and we get clues from there?" Jooheon asks excitedly with widening eyes.

"You have too many of those," Changkyun chuckles. "And I don't think that's necessary anyway. These villains didn't leave anything behind that can help us track them down."

There is a second of silence before sighs are heard all around the room. Minhyuk leans into the couch and looks up to the ceiling. "For now, Changkyun has to focus on healing himself and we have to come up with plans or clues on how to find the antidote."

"You guys are free to stay for the night if you'd like. I'll have to leave early tomorrow for work so treat this as if it's your own home," Jooheon says as he gets up from the kitchen counter. "I only have one guest room and these sofas."

"Thanks, Jooheon," Minhyuk says, smiling brightly.

Jooheon returns the smile before clearing his throat and says, "I have to do something. You guys can continue discussing if you want. If you need me, I'll be in my office just at the end of the hallway there."

The three of them nods while Minhyuk says, "I think we should postpone the meeting to tomorrow. Changkyun should rest for now."

"I agree," Hyungwon replies. "He should take the guest room. I'm cool with sleeping on the couch."

Minhyuk quickly agrees and Changkyun smiles in response. Jooheon then walks up to him and slowly grabs his wrist to pull him up and assists him to the guest room. Both Hyungwon and Minhyuk watches the hacker until he's out of sight. Minhyuk's eyes linger at the doorframe, completely unaware of Hyungwon's stare.

"So..." Hyungwon trails off as he makes himself comfortable on the couch. "The cafe..."

Minhyuk blinks back to reality and gives a half-hearted laugh. "I guess I'll finally have time to rest," he says sadly and gives Hyungwon a slight smile. Hyungwon looks away in pity as Minhyuk prepares himself to sleep. Jooheon walks towards them to pass them pillows and blankets before saying goodnight to them, shutting off the light before he goes to his room. As Hyungwon makes himself comfortable, his phone vibrates on the couch, surprising the lanky boy. He grabs the device and silently reads the text sent to him immediately, squinting his eyes from the light coming out of his phone.

_Meet me now._

Hyungwon glances at Minhyuk before replying, _Give me about five to ten minutes._

_Be quick._

Hyungwon clears his throat before placing his phone on the table beside him. He folds his arms and looks at the ceiling, occasionally glancing at Minhyuk to see if the boy is asleep yet.

"Goodnight, Min," Hyungwon mumbles to which the only response given was a hum. Hyungwon sighs silently and stares at the ceiling once again. He listens to the ticking of the clock as he tries to not make any possible sound that might wake the barista up.

He glances at Minhyuk once again to see the boy peacefully asleep. He takes this chance to quietly get up and walk towards the entrance of the house, not forgetting his phone. He glances at Minhyuk one last time as he reaches the door before pushing it open as silent as possible. Hyungwon quickly rushes to the location he's supposed to meet the sender of the text, making sure no one sees him.

"You're a minute late."

Hyungwon rolls his eyes as he leans against the lamp post, replying, "I was busy. What is so important that I have to come and meet you now?"

The hooded boy in front of Hyungwon lowers the hood of his black jacket and his pink hair immediately gives off a bright and vibrant color in contrast to his outfit. The side of his lips lifts upwards as he raises his hand holding a stack of cash in front of Hyungwon's face. The lanky boy's eyes widen in surprise as his lips mimics the pink haired's.

"That's more than you got last time," Hyungwon says, utterly impressed.

"I know," the pink-haired replies. "He was the richest client I've had."

"I still don't support you having this occupation but I helped you this time so..." Hyungwon trails off as he lifts his palm up towards his shorter friend. The pink-haired rolls his eyes with a grin and passes Hyungwon about half the cash he had in his hand. The lanky boy grabs them with a wide smile plastered on his face as he mumbles, "Thanks Kihyun."

"I still don't understand why don't you just wanna join me," Kihyun starts. "You've helped me a lot for some of my missions and you obviously enjoy getting this much money."

"Me? Being a hitman like you?" Hyungwon asks in disbelief. "Unlike you, I don't have the heart to kill anyone. I can only help track them down but not physically hurt them. Hell, I don't even know how to fight! I'll get killed instead."

"I can teach you how to fight," Kihyun insists. "Come on, Won. Easy money."

"Yeah, keep talking. You won't get to convince me," Hyungwon responds. "Besides, with your shapeshifting powers, your job is so much easier."

"Yeah but you can freeze them with your powers and kill them right after."

"I'm not and never using my powers for something like this," Hyungwon replies sternly to which Kihyun laughs in response. The pink-haired boy pats Hyungwon's shoulder before walking over to the barrier at the edge of the hill.

"I bumped into someone earlier today just after killing the victim and he looked like a threat," Kihyun tells the lanky boy, eyes focused at the night sky.

"A threat?"

"A threat to me," Kihyun quickly answers. "It's as if he knows I'm an Infected."

Hyungwon raises his brows and asks, "Did you shapeshift in front of him?"

Kihyun stays silent for a second before clearing his throat, "Not really, he turned around and saw me just as I shapeshifted so no way he could've noticed."

"Who knows if they're an Infected too," Hyungwon says.

"So what? Infecteds hate their own kinds the most."

"Then kill him the next time you see him," Hyungwon sighs, not believing what he had just said. "Anyway, did you kill your _client_?"

"Hm?" Kihyun hums as he turns to Hyungwon. "Oh, no. Not yet. He said he has one more person he wants me to take down but he didn't tell me who. He sent me the location of this person though."

"Requested two people?" Hyungwon asks, amused. "More reasons for him to die."

" _And_ more money," Kihyun smirks.

Hyungwon chuckles in response before asking, "So where will this person be?"

"Seoul High School."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the really late update :( i hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading the update for this story! Please do give feedback so i'm able to improve the story in terms of the writing etc :)


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